The sport of fishing often requires the person fishing (angler) to carry a substantial amount of equipment to the fishing site. This equipment can include rods, reels, bait, artificial lures, knives, weights, floats and the like. Often the angler will have different types of equipment for different types of fishing. For example, salt water fishing may require different types of equipment than that used for fresh water fishing or fly fishing. As a result, the angler must either carry unnecessary equipment to the fishing site or select only the equipment needed for the particular type of fishing planned and carry only that equipment to the site.
Tackle boxes have long been used for storing fishing equipment and/or for carrying selected equipment to a fishing site. These boxes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and often are compartmentalized to allow the angler to store the equipment in an organized manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,262 to Morin teaches a rod and reel caddy designed to assist the angler in transporting a plurality of rod/reel combinations. The caddy includes several openings to allow insertion of the reel end of the rod/reel combination therein, and also includes small holes situated around the perimeter of the caddy to allow insertion of fish hooks and/or the hooks of artificial lures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,895 to Jachim teaches a container for fishing lures designed to hook over the gunwale of a boat. The container includes a notched bar extending across the box near the top so the it can receive the hooks on the lures, allowing them to hang within the box. A moveable spring-loaded clamping member engages the hooks after they have been placed on the slotted bar to prevent the hooks from coming out of the notches.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,553 to Porter et al. teaches a fishing lure tray that utilizes slots ("notches") along one wall of a lure compartment to receive the hook of a lure while the body of the lure lies in the compartment. A cover is moved into place to keep the hooks from jumping out of the slots.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,755 to Lindgren et al. teaches a snelled fish hook holder in which the hooks are inserted into a long slot and the snell is wrapped around the device and anchored.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,573,431 to Gibson teaches a tackle box that includes removable trays ("bait containers") that have a center handle for carrying. The trays include notches for keeping hooks and lures separate from each other and in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,829 to Parvin teaches a hook holding device that includes a series of holes into which hooks can be inserted to retain them in place. A rotatable cover is turned to cover the top of the inserted hook to keep it from jumping out of place.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 238,873 to West is a design patent for a fishing lure holder. The device portrayed in the-West patent shows a series of slots along a top bar. It cannot be determined from the patent what the slots are for.
With any of the above devices, the hooks are either free to jump out of the holes/slots into which they are inserted or some additional means of holding the hooks in place is required (e.g. a moveable top or cover that comes down over the inserted hooks or the anchoring of the hooks using the snells). The slots allow substantial movement of the hook, i.e., they do not fit snugly in the slots. Thus, either the hooks can jump out during transport, or the angler must manipulate the top or cover out of the way to access the lure, both of which may inconvenience the angler.